I had a productive day! Once I got home from Mudhouse, I was ready to plan for our vacation.

I booked all but Terry's return flight (still waiting on another buddy pass number), and booked a hotel near the airport that includes free parking for two weeks for the night before our flight. I also reserved a rental car at our destination.

I decided that we'll bring our own carseat to use in the rental car, and that we'll gate-check it. I ordered a stroller frame to use with the carseat, which will arrive here on Monday. I also got William three pairs of swim-diapers.

I still haven't decided what to do for shade. We do have a small and lightweight pop-up tent, I'll have to pull it out and see if it will fit in our luggage. We'll just buy or rent beach chairs at our destination if they don't have any at the condo. Depending on the way the balcony is situated, we might spend most of our time overlooking the strand from our comfortable perch on high and we'll just use beach towels when we're down on the sand.

This weekend I'll pull out our luggage to determine if we have a combination of bags that will be suitable for this trip, and plan what clothes to take. I can't imagine that I won't take the opportunity to do a little shopping in LA, even if I'm at a dispiriting weight.